December 2

Today in History
• 1697 - St. Paul's Cathedral opens in London
• 1763 - Touro shul of Newport RI dedicated (oldest existing U.S. synagogue)
• 1802 - English sell Suriname to Dutch
• 1804 - Napoleon Bonaparte crowned emperor of France in Paris by Pope Pius VII
• 1812 - James Madison re-elected president of U.S., E Gerry vice-pres
• 1816 - 1st savings bank in U.S. opens (Philadelphia Savings Fund Society)
• 1823 - President James Monroe declares his "Monroe Doctrine"
• 1840 - William H Harrison elected president of US


Holidays - Traditional and Obscure
• Asom Divas
• Lao National Day
• National Anytime Hawaiian Day
• National Skip School Day
• Play Basketball Day
• Safety Razor Day
• United Arab Emirates National Day
• World Computer Literacy Day

Birthdays
• 1678 - Nicolaas S Cruquius, Dutch hydraulic engineer, drained Haarlemmermeer
• 1703 - Ferdinand Konšcak, Croatian explorer and Jesuit missionary
• 1738 - Richard Montgomery, Irish General in Continental Army
• 1754 - William Cooper, American judge and developer (founded Cooperstown, New York)
• 1805 - Ahmad Pasha Bey, 10th Husainid Bey of Tunis, (1837–1855)
• 1825 - Pedro II van Alcantara, Emperor of Brazil (1831-89)
• 1846 - Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau, French politician (29th Prime Minister of France)
• 1863 - Charles Ringling, circus owner (Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus)